Paying it Forward
by CTI-Jenn
Summary: Sometimes looking forward means looking at your past. Post Ep one shot for Episode 3 "Run to Me." There are spoilers inside to the new episode.


Author's Notes: Just finished watching "Run to Me." Awesome Jules episode. This was the first time I didn't have an idea for the post-ep before I watched the episode and nothing came to me until the very end. I hope you enjoy. Again spoilers for the episode.

Disclaimer: The show Flashpoint and its characters were created by Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern and belong to them and its perspective networks. I am making no money off this story and it is for entertainment purposes only. However, this particular story is my creation and should not be used without my express written permission.

Paying it Forward

"You going somewhere?"

Jules paused in the middle of sliding her arms into the sleeve of her heavy jacket at Sam's question. She glanced back to where he was kicked back in the recliner reading the sports section of the paper. Probably gleaming every detail he could get about the playoff game the night before. Again a little guilt washed over at the thought of him giving up going to the game the night before to join her at the hospital.

"I was just going to run an errand or two. You mind?" She tried to keep her tone light and unaffected. She pulled the jacket on the rest of the way.

Sam shook his head. "Of course not. Want some help or company?" He'd learned early on in their relationship never to use the word need. It was such an innocent word but the independent stubbornness that was the woman he loved took it to heart and in all the wrong ways. It had taken him a long time to recover from that mistake and get back in Jules's good graces. After that he'd been careful to make sure he used the word want instead. It went over much smoother with her without offending her.

She walked across the living room and leaned down to kiss him. He immediately wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her down into his lap. She rested her head on his shoulder and pointed to the paper. "How did your team do?"

"Don't ask." Sam frowned.

Jules raised an eyebrow. "That bad? Or that good and you're sorry you missed it?"

Sam ran his fingers through her hair. He had never really voiced it but he loved when she wore her hair down so that he could. "I'm not sorry I went with you."

"But you are sorry you missed the game." Jules frowned.

"I didn't say that. It's probably better that I wasn't there honestly. 2-2 tie at the end of the third, so sudden death overtime. Eighteen minutes into the second overtime one of our guys tripped on a soft patch of ice in their end, the defense scooped it, fired it up the ice to the waiting center, five hole on the goalie and we were done. I'm pretty sure if I had been there, none of you would have wanted it known you were with me. Reading about it was bad enough."

"Still, it wasn't fair of me to make you miss it. That game is all you've talked about since Holleran got clearance to let us accept the tickets."

New Year's Eve, Team One had received simultaneous calls. While Ed, Greg, and Raf had responded to an active shooter at a club downtown, Jules, Sam and Spike had responded to a bomb threat at the Scotia Plaza. One of the corporate offices had been hosting a party for it's employees. A disgruntled employee who had been terminated just after Christmas had shown up wearing a suicide bomb and had threatened to kill everyone including himself. It had been a tense call but ultimately Spike had jammed the signal long enough for Jules to successfully talk him down. The CEO, whose wife and teenaged daughter had been in attendance at the party, had been effusive in his praise and gratitude for their work in saving everyone. Still, they hadn't thought anything more about it until the day after it was official that the playoffs were a sure thing for Toronto. That was when an envelope had been delivered by courier to headquarters addressed to the three of them. Sam's mouth had dropped when he'd seen the four center ice tickets to game 4 of the first round of the playoffs. His exuberance had shattered however when Greg had informed them that they would have to get permission to accept the tickets. Permission that hadn't come until two days before the game.

"Jules, yeah I was excited about the game and yes we both know I'm passionate about the sport but in the end it's a game and you are you. If I have to choose between the playoffs and you, it's not a choice at all. You win, every time. So no more worrying about it. Okay?"

"Not another word." Jules promised. It wasn't the same as saying she wouldn't worry about it but she hoped he wouldn't call her on it. She kissed him again. "So, I'm not sure how long I'll be gone. It might be a couple of hours."

"Take your time. We've got nothing planned and the whole day to get it done in." He looked at her carefully. "You going back to the hospital?"

"Maybe." Jules said, chewing on her bottom lip. "First I need to visit an old friend."

His hand stilled in her hair. "Officer Mary Fallon?"

It didn't surprise her that he remembered the name she'd mentioned the night before. She nodded toying with the zipper on her coat. "Yeah. I sort of feel like she'd want to know about this and I, I don't know, want to thank her again for what she did for me all those years ago."

Sam tugged her closer and wrapped his arms securely around her. "I didn't realize she lived in Toronto. I guess I figured she was still back in the Hat. Did she move here?"

"No." The one word answer was softly spoken but the pain was evident. "She doesn't live here."

Sam shook his head, thoroughly confused. "Sweetheart, you do realize we're back on shift tomorrow. I don't think you have time to drive to the Hat and back. And even if you did, I think you would be gone more than a couple of hours."

"She doesn't live in the Hat anymore either." Jules offered by way of explanation. "You remember about eight years ago that big raid that went bad in Alberta? The one that the news reported on for weeks trying to figure out who to blame for all the deaths that occurred?"

Sam nodded though he didn't really remember many of the details. Jules continued. "Mary was one of the officers killed in the line of duty. From what I understand, she died saving a kid who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. That was her, always saving kids in trouble."

Sam pressed a comforting kiss on the side of her head. "Is she buried here?" He still couldn't figure out how she'd planned on visiting the officer who had made such a difference in her life.

Again Jules shook her head. "No, she's buried right where she always lived and worked. When I joined the RCMP, she told me she couldn't ever imagine leaving the Hat. Don't look at me like I'm crazy. After I heard she died, it hit me hard. I didn't even get to go to her funeral because I was working. One day I was just driving around and I came across the memorial for fallen police officers. The same one Lew's name was added when he died. Her name obviously isn't on that one but it made me feel a little closer to her. Maybe it's weird but when I feel like I need to talk to her, I go there. I know she's not there and there's really no connection to her but it helps me feel closer."

"It's not weird." Sam assured her, still holding her close. "For what it's worth, I think she'd be proud of you. You've come a long way from that grief stricken lost teenage girl that she busted twenty years ago."

"When I graduated from high school I asked her how I could thank her for everything she did for me. You know what she answered?" Jules snuggled in deeper in his embrace. Sam shook his head but didn't answer verbally, not wanting to break her nostalgic mood.

"She told me if I really wanted to thank her that I needed to pay it forward. That I needed to make a difference in someone else's life the way she'd made a difference for me."

Sam raised her chin so that she was looking him in the eye. "I think you've probably spent your whole adult life doing just that. For what its worth though, I think what you are doing for Sarah and Maddie is exactly what she had in mind."

Jules kissed him. "How is you always know what to say to make me feel better?"

"I read your diary after you go to sleep at night." Sam deadpanned and then laughed as she slapped him on the arm. "Seriously, I'm just saying what's true."

Jules climbed off his lap and looked down at him. "Would you like to go with me?"

Sam nodded but then eyed her carefully. "You sure you want me to? I don't want to intrude."

Jules offered him a wan smile. "Again call me weird cause I know she's not really there but I'd like to introduce you to her. I think she would approve."

A warm fuzzy feeling ran down his spine at the invitation and the reason behind it. "Give me five minutes."

"No hurry. We've got all day."


End file.
